The Merit Economy of Buddhist Publishing in Republican China

Book Culture in Buddhism and Beyond lecture given by Gregory Scott 史瑞戈, University of Manchester

Donations of materials, labour, and/or money in exchange for religious merit have been cornerstones of Buddhism in China since its arrival. In the Republican era (1912-1949), when thousands of Buddhist publications were circulating in China, donations for merit continued to help support the production of some Buddhist books, but many others were funded by fixed and circulating capital from for-profit commercial publishers or (mostly) not-for-profit Buddhist organisations. My presentation will examine evidence from Buddhist publications of the Republican era on how they made use of donations to help fund their work, how donors were recognised and recorded, and how the discourse surrounding merit transformed over this period. My hypothesis is that the longstanding core belief in the merit of publishing Buddhist books was augmented and enhanced by a number of new approaches, made possible by the print technology and social environment of the modern era.

Gregory Adam Scott is Senior Lecturer in Chinese Culture and History at the University of Manchester. His research examines Buddhism in China in the late Qing and Republican eras, especially print culture and publishing.

民國時期佛學出版界之功德經濟

自佛教傳入中國以來，換取宗教功德的捐贈一直是中國佛教的重要支柱，這些捐贈包括物資、勞動及（或）金錢。在民國時期（1912-1949年），當成千上萬的佛學出版物在中國廣泛傳播時，追求功德的捐贈持續為一些佛學書籍的生產提供支持，但許多其他佛學出版物則是由固定資金或流動資金來資助，這些資金一部分來自於盈利的商業出版社，或者更多地來自於非盈利的佛教組織。我的演講將審視民國時期佛學出版界的證據，探討他們如何利用捐贈來資助自己的工作，捐贈者如何被認可和記錄，以及有關功德的話語在這一時期發生了怎樣的轉變。我的假設是，出版佛學書籍帶來功德的核心信仰長久以來一直存在，並且在現代印刷技術和社會環境的支持下，通過一系列新的途徑得到了增強。

史瑞戈博士是英國曼徹斯特大學中國文化與歷史研究的高級講師。他的研究主要關注晚清及民國時期的中國佛教，特別是印刷文化與出版。